Trading Treatment for Terror

Abstract

There are actually hundreds of definitions of terrorism and cynics have claimed that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s hero.” Terrorists seem particularly fond of this definition. However, it seems more reasonable to rely on the 2004 definition of terrorism adopted by the United Nations Security Council: “Criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.” Similarly, on March 17, 2005 a UN panel defined terrorism as any act: “Intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act.” These definitions make it fairly clear that terrorists are not heroes.